The present invention relates to collet chucks and jaw chucks for holding a tool or work piece on a spindle of a turning machine or similar device, and devices for holding the chucks onto an automatic indexing machines.
Collet chucks are used to clamp or grip work pieces or tools in turning machines, such as lathes. The collet head inside the chuck includes a number of circumferentially-spaced gripping segments and a number of cam surfaces. When the collet head is moved axially, its cam surfaces interact with corresponding opposing surfaces or cams on the mounting fixture. The interaction of the opposing cam surfaces causes the gripping segments of the collet head to expand or contract, thus causing it to grip or release a work piece or tool, depending on the direction of axial movement.
Jaw chucks usually come as three-jaw or four-jaw chucks, which use interconnected dogs or “jaws” on a tool or work piece to hold the tool or work piece in place. Jaw chucks usually are best suited for gripping circular cross-sections.
When either type of chuck is used for machining a tool, it is common to attach the chuck to another stand alone device for proper machining of the tool or work piece. Most previously developed devices are capable of perpendicular machining. That is, these devices are designed for forming holes in the work piece that are either vertically or horizontally aligned with the work piece. Other devices include clamps and the like that are capable of holding the work piece at angles other than right angles. Known devices, though, do not transition easy and precisely from a perpendicular position to another angled position. Many times a user may need to machine one piece at a perpendicular angle and a second piece at a non-perpendicular angle. Furthermore, it is possible that a work piece may need to be machined at different places on the work piece, at both a perpendicular angle and an angle that is not perpendicular to the work piece, while still requiring precise machination. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a collet holder and assembly that allows for easy and precise changing of the axis for which the machining on the work piece will be performed.
As mentioned, chuck assemblies usually are attached to stand alone devices, such as the previously mentioned indexers, which may take up a larger than desired surface or work area. It would also be advantageous to develop a chuck assembly that could be attached and incorporated into standard table features, such as a standard table top vice.